MOVIE REVIEW: Central Intelligence

Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart join forces in Central Intelligence, a action - buddy comedy that has been done before and yet it feels new and engaging because the two actors have excellent chemistry and impeccable comic timing not only from Hart but also from Johnson, who is more known in the wrestling world as The Rock and his action films.

The film starts in high school where Hart stars as Calvin Joyner as the popular kid in school while Johnson is Robert Weirdicht who is on the opposite end, a victim of bullying to the extreme.

Fast forward twenty years later and days before their high school reunion, the two shall meet again thru Facebook and this time - things have changed, Joyner is now  the mild-mannered and put down upon accountant in the firm that he works for while Weirdicht has changed his name into Bob Stone, has completely transformed physically and has a cool and exciting job unlike Joyner who incidentally was voted most likely to succeed. The two get into a situation that involves Stone's job and just like any other buddy action comedies - punchlines and action are thrown right into the audience.
Central Intelligence offers a fresh view though on bullying and overcoming it in all forms and situations. Add to it some excellent one liners most especially coming from Kevin Hart and a charming performance from Dwayne Johnson: the movie rises above it's genre and it's on track to becoming director Rawson Marshall Thurber's third blockbuster comedy film after Dodgeball in 2004 and We're the Millers from 3 years ago.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Conjuring 2

The Conjuring from three years ago is one of the critically acclaimed horror films in recent years with a big box office gross to match. Based on the true story of the husband and wife paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren more popularly known for their involvement in the Amityville case in New York state in the seventies. The first film set a couple of years before, was focused on the Perron family of Harrisville, Rhode Island, who's home is said to be cursed by a witch who lived there in the early 19th century. Excellent acting from the cast guided by focused direction by James Wan, who also made another well-crafted horror film which is the first Insidious in 2010, is turning out to be a master of the genre. A part 2 was inevitable.

Bringing back Wan to helm the sequel and also the same actors who played the Warren couple Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga is the first step in the right direction and from there The Conjuring 2 never looked back.
The action shifts to England this time and the couple was sent there to investigate a poltergeist in a home in Enfield North London where a single  mother Peggy Hodgson played with perfection by Frances O'Connor and her four kids live. It just wouldn't live their home.
The success of the first film was easily replicated in the sequel. Aside from the lead actors, the film's charm lies in it's excellent production design that easily replicates the era and a dark moody cinematography complimented with a haunting score. The Conjuring 2 is one of the rare sequels in the genre that equals and also maybe surpasses the original. Looking forward to the Warren couple's next supernatural experience hopefully played again again by both Wilson and Farmiga.

MOVIE REVIEW: Now You See Me 2

The sequel to the 2013 surprise hit Now You See Me, it brings back The Four Horsemen (Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Woody Harrelson and Mark Ruffalo) and together with Lizzy Caplan who replaces Isla Fisher from the original as the lady in the group, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Daniel Radcliffe in a role completely opposite from his Harry Potter persona.

A year and a half after the first film, The Four Horseman, a group of magician entertainers who expose global corruption and evildoers are hiding from the law after doing a Robin Hood type of heist from an insurance magnet (Michael Caine). They are brought back together after when a young high tech magnate (Daniel Radcliffe) blackmails them and insists on pulling a trick to benefit him.

Those who enjoyed the first film will have a great time with the sequel. Now You See Me 2 has some elements of the Ocean Eleven films with different locations around the globe that is actually family friendly. If the first film was able about magic, the sequel is more focused showing it's technical aspect. It was great to see how some tricks were done piece by piece.

Radcliffe is a great addition to the cast and it's nice to see him back on the big screen in a Hollywood popcorn film. Most of the actors who were in the first film still has that chemistry that was a big factor in it's box office success. The heist scene involving a playing card is a pleasure to watch. The problem though is that like any other sequel, the film felt like it was going nowhere. It's running time of 2 hours and 10 minutes could have been shorter by 30 minutes.

Overall Now You See Me 2 is a passable sequel and despite its shortcomings, it will make you wish for a better third film in the series. 

MOVIE REVIEW: The Lobster

The Lobster is a film set in the near future where being single is not acceptable or an option. Colin Farrell in the best performance of his career shedding his handsome guy persona stars as David an architect whose wife left him after 12 years and therefore had to check in to a strange hotel type facility in which he has to find a partner in 45 days or else turn into an animal of his choice according to the hotel manager (Olivia Colman). David then chooses to be a lobster  because according to him "they live for a 100 years, stay fertile and are blue-blooded just like rich people".

After meeting some people with various characteristics such as the Lisping Man (John C. Reilly) and the Limpin Man (Ben Whishaw) and getting into situations that can easily end his life, he realized that he had to escape and fight the system. David joined the group of Deserters, fellow escapees who don't like what the system dictates and are proud of their single statuses in life. Led by their leader (Lea Seydoux from Blue is the Warmest Color and Spectre), David ironically falls in love with the woman the group calls the short-sighted one (Rachel Weisz) with unforseen consequences. 

This is one of the most original film in the English language in years. Greek Director Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth) created a film that is certainly an acquired taste with a loud statement on society's stigma on now having a partner in life. 

MOVIE REVIEW: Warcraft

I had never played Warcraft before and I know that films that are based on video games are mostly a miss. However when I found out that Duncan Jones aka David Bowie's director son who made two of the outstanding indie sci-fi hits in recent years: Source Code with Jake Gyllenhaal and Moon with Sam Rockwell, my curiosity and expectation with Warcraft became increasingly high to find out if Jones can succeed with his first big budgeted flick.

I did some background research of the game first before watching. The battle never ends on Azeroth with the human and the orcs competing against each other to live. Unfortunately, the movie has too many characters that we are inclined to follow at every step. That can also be said about the X-Men movies but unlike the Marvel franchise, the Warcraft ones are written poorly that in the end we moviegoers don't give a damn about since unlike the game, we aren't the ones playing.

At some point, Warcraft aims for Lord of the Rings grandeur but the CGI simply overpowers everything and instead of replicating the Oscar winning trilogy of Peter Jackson, Warcraft turned out to be more like the other trilogy: The Hobbit.

MOVIE REVIEW: X-Men: Apocalypse

The third part of the X-Men reboot is set ten years later after 2014's Days of Future Past, 1983 to be exact and as the title suggests the world's about to end as one religious group was able to unleash the first mutant Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) after being betrayed and trapped underneath ancient Egypt. He consumes power from other mutants and is ready for world domination and to destroy humanity as a whole.

James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are both back reprising their roles as Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto respectively. The two hold their own in a movie filled with lots of characters that can get confusing at times but not like in  the previous film with the old and the younger versions of the mutants join together. Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique, perhaps due to her stature as one of the biggest Hollywood actresses is more of a heroine than a villain in the film - it works!! Nicholas Hoult (Beast) and Evan Peters (Quicksilver) are also here in the third installment.

Isaac always had the magnetic presence whether as the titular character in his breakout role in Inside Llewyn Davis and as the hero Poe Dameron in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Unfortunately, he is covered with tons of make up as Apocalypse diminishing his star value and at some point the character looks like a typical villain in a bad sci-fi B movie. 

X-Men: Apocalypse is one of the entertaining action packed films in the series. It does not top the greatness of 2011's X-Men: First Class which for me is the best in the franchise but it sure is worth the money and the time to enjoy

it on the big screen.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Angry Birds Movie

The first animated film based on a game app of the smartphone generation, The Angry Birds Movie is made with those who had played the game in mind. Like most of us, if you are familiar with it, you will easily be entertained and know some references in the film. The creators upped up the prestige factor by casting some of the finest actors around to do the voice work. Jason Sudeikis is Red, the lead character: a red bird with some extreme anger issues that forced him to be isolated on Bird Island. Danny McBride is Bomb, the bird who detonates when mad, Josh Gad more popularly known as the voice of Olaf in Disney's blockbuster Frozen as the fast and speedy Chuck  and just like in real life when he made the headlines because of his temper, two time Academy Award Winner Sean Penn is perfect as Terence, a big red bird with issues. Together the four bond together when Pigs visit the Island with suspicious intentions. Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader, Peter Dinklage and Keegan Michael-Key complete the outstanding voice ensemble which makes The Angry Birds Movie notches above other films based on video games.

The animation is gorgeous with color palettes blended perfectly well and the jokes are for all age demographics from the harmless to one or two that are as green as the pigs color. 

The Angry Birds Movie exceeded my expectations and it is an hour and 40 minutes well spent with the family and friends.